Oracle cures need for speed with TimesTen buy

In memory, we trust

Industry giant Oracle has gobbled up smaller database player TimesTen in the hopes of using the firm's ultra-fast transaction technology to speed its software.

TimesTen makes a specialized database that speeds up many types of transactions by storing data in memory as opposed to disk. Customers in the financial services, telecom and networking industries have been the biggest fans of TimesTen's products. Deutsche Bank, Cisco, JP Morgan and the Nasdaq exchange are just some of the high-profile clients claimed by the company.

"The TimesTen technologies will be a natural extension of our database and Oracle Fusion Middleware," said Andrew Mendelsohn, a SVP at Oracle. "This will enable us to provide our customers - such as those in the telecommunications and financial services industries - with instantly responsive and continuously available access to critical transaction data."

Oracle expects the deal to close by the end of July, pending standard approvals. Neither company released financial details of the transaction.

TimesTen's CEO Jim Groff pitched the acquisition as a big win for the company's customers, saying many of them already run Oracle and will now receive a combined, high-performance product.

Oracle has been on quite the software buying spree, picking up PeopleSoft and Retek for serious cash in recent months.